Grey Lines - An Old Republic Story
by kuriheartsyou
Summary: Sari Onasi - an esteemed Jedi Knight with a war hero for a father and a fallen Jedi for a mother. Set 27 years after Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Sari is sent on a mission to find and capture her missing mother, Darth Revan, with the help of her newly assigned Padawan Kirdu. Story is set so that Revan is female and Draw Karpyshyn's crummy book never happened.
1. Chapter 1

Sari closed her eyes and sighed, taking in a deep breath of the warm Dantooine air... This was her home, her sanctuary. After 5 years of a seemingly endless war, it felt nice to return to the one planet she could find solace in even if the conditions weren't as she would have hoped.

She looked down at her injured leg, and winced at the reminder of her recently failed mission. She had been on the moon of Dxun as a spy for the Republic. The moon was a beautiful one, if you ruled out the predatory beats that seemed to lurk in every tree, bush, and cave. Which, in this case, were everywhere. Sari had been disarming a mine when a full grown Boma beast had leapt out at her from the underbrush with an earth-shattering roar and swinging one of its giant paws out at her head. In a split second, she had ducked out of the way and managed to scramble away but, not before it had brought its sharp claws down and slashed her left thigh open. From what her jedi partner had explained to her, Sari had passed out from blood loss a good 50 kilometers away from the Mandalorian base. She didn't want to think about what could have happened if it were one of the Mandalorians that had found her, and not one of her own team mates.

So here she was, laying out on one of the many plateaus in the soft grass. Above her, the clouds rolled lazily by. Occasionally, a Brith would fly along and snatch something up for a quick meal. Even the Kath Hounds seemed to be docile and calm, 5 of them were sleeping nearby under a Blba tree.

Now that her nap was over, Sari decided it would probably be best to do a little training while she healed. The wound wouldn't last more than 3 more days. And she didn't want to go back out into the field with tight limbs. She pushed herself off of the grass, instantly wishing she could be lazy for just a little longer being as the warm sun was keeping her in a groggy state.

********************

It was a short walk back to the Enclave, and there were multiple people standing around outside: the hopefuls. They were all farmers that had been bullied by the Mandalorians that had settled on Dantooine shortly after the Mandalorian War had ended, and the clans scattered; they were constantly raiding homes and slaughtering anyone that tried to stop them. Sari learned once from a Mandalorian friend of hers that they fought for honor; they didn't look for fights, and they didn't prey on the weak. The clan that settled nearby was obviously one of the clans that did anything they wanted – completely going against their archaic code of honor. Many of them had become mercenaries or bounty hunters but, these ones just bullied the helpless farmers and stole their valuables.

These were those farmers: petitioning to the Jedi Council for them to take care of the problem, but the Council never did anything. In the 23 years(not including the time it took for Dantooine to rebuild after Darth malak's assault on the planet) the Mandalorians had been on Dantooine, the Council never made a move to exterminate the problem. Although Sari wondered, she never asked out loud because she never questioned their judgment. They were the leaders of the Jedi on Dantooine for their wisdom, and she respected that.

Sari walked past the farmers and into the Enclave, doing her best not to look into their desperate and hopeless eyes.

The droid at the reception table next to the entrance greeted her briefly, as it was programmed to do, and went back to doing something on a machine. A couple of Jedi Padawans nodded at her in greeting as she passed them on the way to the training room; she nodded back, smiling. The Padawans on Dantooine almost never left the planet unless their masters went on a mission because the Order wanted to keep them safe until battle called. Sari didn't always agree with this. Keeping the Padawans from danger was fine, but keeping them from the world was not. They would become soft and careless – they needed to see the threat of battle in their own eyes, to see what a simple mistake could do. Every Padawan needed to learn that being a Jedi was not always just about being an ambassador and keeping the peace.

Isn't that was Revan and Malak had said?

Sari paused next to the fountain the center of one of the open courtyards. Revan and Malak… She remembered being told how powerful their words were as they told their cause to the other Jedi – Apprentices, Knights and Padawans alike – and convinced them to join the war against the Mandalorians. Revan, with her hood up and mask covering her angelic features; Malak, with his shaved head and powerful looking body. They seemed like the greatest warriors the galaxy had, and Sari had been entranced by the words that Revan and Malak spoke as they shouted that the Order was doing nothing as countless were raped and murdered everyday by the savages known as the Mandalorians.

Even now, she felt a shudder of excitement. At the time she had seen the film recorded on the security cameras, she had been an Apprentice under Master Vandar himself before he had been killed in the devastating attack on Katarr. She had never experienced the thrill of battle other than the training room and wished so badly to have been able to serve under someone like that.

Even if they had become the worst Sith Lords in the galaxy.

But she didn't need to be dwelling on such matters. The past was the past.

The girl tied her long, curly blonde hair up into a ponytail and strode towards the training room. From afar, she could hear the other pupils training – the clashing noise of training lightsabers resonating off of the walls. By listening, one would assume that there were maybe a dozen battles going on at once when, in fact, there were a mere 3. Two 1-on-1 sessions, and a 3-way training session were going on. On a bench next to the training mat, were a few of the masters and knights drinking water and observing the progress of the Padawans before them.

Sari found a place on the bench next to Quell Dipundu, a Rodian Jedi Knight she fought with on Dxun. The Padawans challenging each other now seemed to only know the 2 forms of combat: Shii-cho and Djem So. Also, they were 2 most basic forms of combat. In her eyes, they were sluggish and left too many openings that the other Padawan's untrained eyes couldn't pick up.

Bored, she looked down at the row of 5 Jedi on the bench. A human male, Caru Jupall, caught her gaze and waved his lightsaber. She nodded, taking up on his challenge, and stood up to walk to the other side of the training mat. They walked to what seemed like a good spot and took off their cloaks and tossed them to the side Sari crouched down into a defensive stance and grabbed one of the training sabers, Caru did the same.

The two had known each other for about 4 years, and knew each other's forms and weaknesses pretty well. This would definitely be an interesting, if not tiresome, match.

Caru attacked first, lunging at her with his saber aimed for her left shoulder which she easily parried and moved to kick his foot out from under him. The man flipped to the side, his moves a blur as he went to slash at her lower back. It took her less than a second to roll away and jab the weapon into his ribcage, causing Caru to yelp and jumped to the other end of the mat to recuperate.

Training sabers were like regular lightsabers, except instead of concentrated plasma, it was a blade with microscopic spokes that contained a mild poison. It was so weak that it couldn't even penetrate flesh. However, it was strong enough to leave a welt or bruise for days – even just a small glance.

She took the advantage of his state of weakness and lunged at him, using the swift Soresu form to make a tight slash at his left thigh. Caru parried and tried to make an offensive maneuver, but Sari was too fast and he had been caught off guard. In a flash of movement, she head butted the man and drove the saber into his right hand.

The entire match had taken no more than a minute, and it was over. Most lightsaber battles never lasted more than a few minutes – even for a strong master, the constant jabbing and precise movements were tiring for anyone.

Caru slumped to the ground, staring at his hand. It probably wouldn't work right for a week or so; the skin was a glaring red and had blisters all over. Sari kind of felt bad - she once had to experience the pain of a training lightsaber with the full force of her master when she was a young Padawan, no more than maybe 15 years old. She had left her guard down on her left side and the Iktotchi didn't take any hesitation to show her how she would have died in a true combat situation. The pain of the training saber raking across her abdomen had been blinding: she felt as if she were being stabbed with fire. Of course, she hadn't been seriously injured. But there was no way she was going through that pain any time soon and she learned pretty quick to always keep an eye on her guard.

After coming back to his senses, Caru picked himself off of the ground shakily and shuffled into the med bay in the next room. Sari picked up his training lightsaber and set it back on the wall with hers and the others. She turned around to see that everyone in the room had been staring at them. The

Padawans looked at her with a mix between shock and admiration; she bowed her head at them in recognition, and then at the knights and masters on the bench, before walking after Caru into the med bay.

She scruffled Caru's dark brown hair and sat next to him, "You going to be okay?" she asked.

He just huffed and kept his eyes shut as the medic droid worked on dressing the burns. Sari smiled, he was never one that enjoyed losing. Ever since they met, he always had a boyish competitive side where he always seemed to want to prove himself better than the others.

"That really hurt, you know," he whined, "Next time, at least give me a moment to pull myself together."

"Oh quit your whining. You of all people should know that you don't get a moment to heal in combat."

His hand twitched. A few years ago, he had been in a fight with a gang that worked for a Hutt that wanted him off of Tatooine, when he paused momentarily after getting a sharp jab in the shoulder with a vibroblade. His hesitation nearly caused him his life when the gang leader had lunged at him and raked his blade from Caru's jaw to his navel, narrowly missing the jugular vein in his neck.

"I know… We don't get those few precious seconds. But this isn't real combat! We're on Dantooine with training sabers in a room full of Padawans!" he glared at her as he spoke, his voice rising.

Sari wasn't one for taking crap from people. She stood up, "That's what training is for! To prepare you for battle! Just because I'm an ally doesn't mean you can let your guard down and relax when there's still a threat imposed on you! What if I had tripped and my blade was at your face?! You would have d-"

"Would you stop treating me like I'm some kind of child?! I'm not Jecki!"

Sari froze at the mention of the Twi'lek. Jecki was her best friend, and practically her sister. On the world of Onderon, she had seen the corruption in the Queen who was being influenced heavily by the Admiral of the Onderon fleet, who was being influenced by greed and ideas of a militant government. When she tried to stop it, she was seen as a traitor of the Republic, and was struck down by an enraged supporter of the Queen. On her home planet, Jecki was murdered.

She saw the immediate apologetic look on the man's face, but Sari just turned her back on him and left the room. She made sure to ignore his pleas to come back and his apologies.

**************************

Sari had just risen when one of the many apprentices, one she favored named Kirdu, ran into her room, breathless.

Jedi had no locks on their doors, as there was no need. One in tune with the Force would already know if the person was presentable or doing something they shouldn't be.

Kirdu, a human boy with soft brown hair, smiled at her bed head. Sari was pretty enough as long as her hair was tamed. Otherwise, she had a natural morning poof that looked almost threatening.

"Yes? What is it?" she asked, quickly throwing her long hair into a loose topknot.

He stood in her doorway, obviously feeling too awkward to enter the room without direct permission, "the Council sent me to summon you to their chamber. Master Vrook says they have a new mission for you." Even though he was trying to contain his excited emotions, the light in his brown eyes made Sari feel almost warm inside. What with the wars and political corruption, so many people had looks of hopelessness etched deep into their faces; their eyes lacked the emotion found in the young boy standing before her. For a few moments, she wanted to pretend there was nothing wrong with the state of the galaxy.

She swung her leg out from under the sheet and tried to ignore the shocked look from Kirdu at the sight of the long white scar trailing from her hip to her knee. Even with the help of the kolto fluids, there was the scar: a reminder of her carelessness that she would have to live with for the rest of her life. Or maybe he was just surprised at the amount of skin being shown to him nonchalantly. The Jedi had an unspoken rule of absolute modesty.

"Wait outside my door, I will join you in a moment," she yawned. Sari looked at the clock next to her bed, which glowed 7:43 standard hours. She had slept slightly longer than she normally would have. But, it seemed no one would care. The door shut behind Kirdu. Sari pulled herself out of bed and she grabbed her deep red tunic that was lying on the nightstand.

After a few minutes of forcing her hair into submission, she opened her door and stepped out into the long hallway. Jedi weren't supposed to worry about such petty things as appearance, but even some things needed to be looked after. Even at so early in the morning, many Jedi were bustling around trying to get to their destinations and get tasks done; she expected the training rooms were full as they usually were in the mornings.

Kirdu was instantly at her side with a muffin. A deep sense of warmth spread through her as she tore the muffin into halves and gave one side to him - the selflessness and kindness of a child was never ending. Sometimes Sari wondered what happened to make people so cruel and selfish. Especially the Sith – bombing planets and taking prisoners to torture mercilessly for no good reason, then justifying it by interrogation.

Hate exploded through her chest and flooded her mind at the thought of what she had seen in a Sith torture chamber during a raid the Jedi had orchestrated. What that room held was more than what any of them had expected; it wasn't just soldiers as they all had thought. Women, children, farmers, soldiers and slaves alike had been taken from their home world of Tattooine. Dismembered, burnt, cut, and other horrifying things had been done to them. Sari had no intention of ever seeing anything like that every again.

She squeezed her blue eyes shut and pushed the thought from her mind as she ate the muffin she held in her hand; next to her, Kirdu was munching away happily. Hate led to the darkside. And Sari already knew what came from that.

Like the little messy eater he is, Kirdu had crumbs all over his cheeks and around his mouth. It occurred to her that the little 12 year old would have to experience the horrors and pain the rest of the galaxy now faced. He would grow up and be sent off onto missions- whether they be liberation assignments or as a simple diplomat. He would have to see combat. He would have to see bloodshed.

Once again, she had to force such thoughts from her mind. What mattered now was the fact that he was able to live a peaceful life in his innocence. She needed to stop worrying of him. Although young and baby-faced, he was strong in the Force and was one of the best pupils they had seen in quite a few years.

"Master?" Kirdu tugged slightly on her tunic and looked up at her, "What's wrong?"

Sari smiled and shook up his hair, "I'm fine. Just wondering what my mission is about."

His nose scrunched up as it always did when he was thinking. It was her turn to ask if he was okay. He responded by pointing at her injured leg, "What happened to your leg? Was it a Sith?"

"Pfft hardly. As much as I'd like to tell you some long and interesting tale about how I struck down Sith Lords, my last mission was on Dxun, and I wasn't paying attention to the giant Boma beast trying to eat me for lunch."

Kirdu looked confused, "Dxun? Is that a planet?"

"Hm… Dxun is a moon. It orbits Onderon. It's basically one big, wet, forest. And it's full of dangerous creatures like Terantateks and Drexyls – basically a Brith with HUGE teeth - and traps set by the Mandalorians to keep away spies."

"Were you a spy, Master?" he asked, obviously impressed that she had survived such a place.

Terantateks were known for the number of Jedi they killed.

"Yes. I was spying on the Mand-"

"Bragging about your missions, Sari?"

She was cut off by a human woman named Belaya. Belaya and Sari had never gotten along well, even as they were children.

Sari wasn't about to be shown up by her attitude, "Oh, of course not. I'm just describing how my mission went. You know the one you were going to be assigned but was reassigned to escort that bounty hunter on death row? It was pretty exciting. Maybe I'll tell you about it later?"

Belaya looked like she had a few choice words to spit out at Sari, but didn't want to trash her image in front of a youngling. Instead, she just stomped past her; Sari had to hold back a laugh when she missed the shoulder she tried to bump.

************************

It had taken them no more than a few minutes to reach the Jedi Council chamber room, but it seemed to Sari like it were hours. She finished eating her half of the muffin and crouched down to Kirdu's level, "I'm going to go talk to the Council," she said, "You go train with the others, okay?"

The boy nodded and started to head towards the training room as she had instructed; Sari was left by herself as she readied herself to face the Council. There were no doors to the chamber room as it was unneeded. Sari strolled right in and was met with greetings from all 5 members of the Dantooine Jedi Council.

"Good morning, Sari," master Doren-a Twi'lek- greeted, "I trust that you got our message well?"

She nodded in greeting as she found her spot directly in front of their crescent formation, "kirdu had found me just as I woke up. There were no problems. Thank you for your concern, Master. However, moving onto more important matters, what was it that you wanted to speak to me about?"

Their faces seemed to harden; even the small and usual jovial Master Koatir was serious. There was a slight pause in the conversation that began to make Sari feel uncomfortable, like she was about to be sent on a suicide mission.

A thing about the Jedi Council on Dantooine, they were the only ones that knew of her history. Her father, a great army general; and her mother, the Dark Lord of the Sith that attacked and nearly destroyed the Republic itself. She was the child of Darth Revan and Carth Onasi. As a result, the Council watched her with trained and wary eyes. She had proven strong in the lightside of the Force and was strongly committed to the Jedi Code. At age 23, she had proven far better than anyone's expectations.

It was Master Vrook who broke the silence, "You know just as well as everyone else in the galaxy that Darth Revan had disappeared shortly after the destruction of the Star Forge on Lehon. Your mother fled into unknown regions of space, leaving behind even her lover with no clue as to her whereabouts."

Sari wasn't sure how to respond to the statement, so she kept silent. Vrook didn't approve of Revan being trained a second time at the temple, and he only truly thought of Sari as nothing more than a… spawn of that darkness. He was the first to oppose her training, but his vote had been overruled even though he was the last surviving member of the original Council that had trained Revan.

"Been thinking hard, we have," Master Koatir interjected with his strange Yoda speech pattern, "And come to a decision, we have also done."

Master Kentris, a female Iktotchi, spoke up, "We have decided that you are to be the one to search for her."

The statement was almost like a physical blow. Her heart began to race and she had to force herself to speak evenly, "But, masters… I trust in your wisdom, as does everyone on Dantooine, but isn't contact with family forbidden? Even more so, my mother… My mother is a Dark Lord of the Sith – a traitor to the Republic itself and to my father!"

Kentris cut her off with a slight raise of the hand, "We have discussed this for quite a while now, and you seem to be the one most fit for this assignment. Revan will most likely have a weakness for her own flesh and blood. You are strong in the mind and in your lightsaber and we have all decided that you would be able to resist the lure of the darkside if the time came."

"But, what if I am to fail?"

Master Vrook looked her in the eye with a gaze intense enough to make her cringe inwardly, "As your master has already said, we have already decided that you are the only one to be trusted with this task!"

Next to him, Doren put a hand on the old man's shoulder, "Calm yourself, my friend. We knew she would be shocked at the assignment. Getting enraged over a natural instinct is a dangerous habit to start."

The old man harrumphed and squared his shoulders, remaining silent. 

Doren continued on, "We know you will be tempted, as will all of us. But you managed to travel into the tomb of Freedon Nadd on Dxun without falling to the corruption, correct?"

Sari nodded silently.

"Then we believe you are ready to face this task. But do not worry, you will not be traveling alone. I hear from Koatir and Kentris that you have taken a liking to a youngling by the name of Kirdu?"


	2. Chapter 2

Sari was dizzy. It took all of her energy not to just pass out right then and there on the training mat in front of everyone. In front of Kirdu.

"He is to be your very own Padawan. You two share a close bond, and we believe he will help you on your mission. In more than one way."

She was seriously considering the sanity of the masters. Not only was he a mere Padawan learner- a small child! – but they would be facing one of the most mysterious and dangerous Sith Lords in ages. This wasn't just some diplomatic trip or escort mission!

Kirdu, like Sari, was also frowned upon by most of the Jedi here. He had been born and raised on Korriban, the tombworld of the Sith. At age 3, he was found wandering in the Shyrack Caves near the Sith academy. No one knew who his parents were and no one ever found out why he had been in the Shyrack caves, or how he even survived the Tuk'ata and Terantek that were known for living deep in the tunnels. But nonetheless, he was brought back by a Jedi Knight who had been on Korriban as a spy.

For a moment, Sari wondered if this was how her mother had felt when she was assigned on the mission to search for the Star Forge. All she knew was that she was being sent off in a blind hunt for maps where she had no clue where they were; she was a mere neophyte Padawan with two other Padawans, a war veteran, a Mandalorian bounty hunter and a teenaged Twi'lek that grew up in the slums of Taris. Of course, along the way, they picked up a hermit ex-Jedi Knight and a battle droid called HK-47.

In a way, Sari was in the same predicament as her mother. She was also being sent on a wild goose chase with no lead, no idea where to start, and a Padawan at her side. If Revan was capable of finding the Star Forge, then she would be able to find Revan herself. And Sari didn't care how long it would take. Her mind was made.

At that very moment of her resolve, Kirdu struck down his opponent and looked at her and searched his master's face for a hint of praise. Sari nodded her head at him and smiled. He beamed.

Yes. They were ready.

*************************

Sari honestly couldn't tell if her departure from Dantooine was a relief or an upset. For the most part, her wound was completely healed. All that was left were 3 long, white scars running from her hip to her knee- the only proof she had that the Boma beast had attacked her.

As much as she longed to stay on the warm calm planet, she yearned to be in battle again. She needed the feeling of adrenaline pumping through her system as she cut down enemies and moved forward in military advances. It would pain her to leave her home, her one place she could find absolute solace, but she needed more than just grass and lazy skies.

Kirdu, however, seemed completely heartbroken. It was going to take him a while to sever his attachments to the planet. Dantooine was the only home he remembered, from what he told her, other than brief flashes of the cave he was found in on Korriban.

He had recently created his lightsaber, which now dangled at his hip as he moved and organized crates of supplies into the cargo hold. Sari leaned back and watched him. Even at the age of 10, she could tell that the Padawan was going to grow tall and strong. His shoulders were broader than most his age and his legs were longer. He seemed to have an air of confidence around him. Probably because he had finally been promoted to Padawan and was going on his first mission.

His first mission….

Most Padawans never went on more than an escort mission for their first time, or to a diplomatic meeting. Once again, Sari found herself questioning the masters. She would have gladly been partnered with one of the other Knights, but why Kirdu? He'd never experienced the taste of battle. This mission required her to some of the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Maybe even farther. There was no way a child would be able to handle himself! What were they thinking?!

_ No. Relax. Remember, there is no emotion…_

Sari calmed the storm of emotions swelling inside of her. All that mattered was that she was now faced with the task, and Kirdu was now her responsibility. She pushed herself off from the frame of the ship and headed towards the cockpit. She slid into the pilot's seat. She had decided that her first stop should probably be Lehon. The Rakatan species there were known as incredibly strong in the Force, as they once had made the galaxy their infinite empire. Sari was sure they would at least be able to give a small hint as to where Revan might be. After that, they would move farther into the Unkown Regions and Outer Rim. As much as the thought of flying blindly looking for systems that may not even exist dampened her motivation, it was the only sure way to find Revan. There was no way she'd be hiding out on a planet in the Inner or Mid Rims without the Jedi masters sensing her presence.

"_Silver Cloud_, vessel 239KM-54, you have permission for departure," a bored man's voice said over the comm. Sari didn't reply, instead just firing up the engine and feeling the hum that came from deep within the hull.

Kirdu popped up at her side, looking excited. "Are we taking off, master?" he asked.

"Yeah. Sit in the co-pilot's chair and don't touch any buttons unless I tell you to."

Looking slightly disheartened that he couldn't participate in the flight, Kirdu did as he was told and climbed into the co-pilot's seat obediantly. As soon as the engines were hot, Sari pulled the Silver Hawk slowly up in the air, making sure they were completely clear of the landing pad's surroundings before hitting the accelerator and speeding away.

*****************************

Jedi master Kaotir's large Yoda ears slumped slightly as the blonde-haired woman left the Council Chamber. The tension in the air was thick. As soon as she was out of ear reach, he turned to the others, "Wise, you think it is to send this particular pair on this mission?"

Next to him, the Iktochi woman shrugged nonchalantly, stoicism a common trait among the species, "We can't know for sure. Even with the premonitions given to my species, the future is always changing. The darkside clouds everything. Even with the fall of Malak's army."

Doren nodded in agreement, "All we can do is hope that sending the young Padawan with her will help her keep on the path of light."

"That Padawan…" Kaotir started, "mixed emotions, I feel in his. Troubling, it is."

They all agreed silently, and prayed that they did not make a grave mistake.


	3. Chapter 3

If there was one thing she was thankful for, it was the fact that the major planets her mother had visited where relatively close. Even with hyperspace traveling, flying to different systems often took days or even weeks. With Kirdu on board, Sari was hesitant to take shortcuts. Many charted hyperspace routes were unstable, and some collapsed or shaifted spontaneously. If that happened while a ship was still in the tunnel... Well, she didn't want to think about it.

Anyways, Sari saw little Kirdu flinch when she pulled the _Silver Cloud _out of lightspeed. The inertia tugged ontheir bodies, pulling them forward. The Jedi weren't exactly known for creating amazing ships, and this was no exception; when pulling out of a hyperspace route, most ships are modified so that you felt next to nothing. The _Silver Cloud _on the other hand, wasn't so advanced. You could feel the drastic change in speed. And it wasn't comfortable.

"Master? What system is this?"

Kirdu's question snapped her out of her silent grumblings. They were approaching the Lehon System - one of the most unknown systems known to the Galactic Republic yet, and also home to the Rakata. The system consisted of 8 planets total but Sari was only interested in 1: Lehon itself. The mostly blue planet was surrounded by bits and pieces of ships and remnants of the pre-existing Star Forge. Oddly enough, Sari was disappointed that the Star Forge had been destroyed; the Jedi could have used that power to terminate the very existence of the Sith! What ridiculous being would ever want to pass up that kind of power?! They could use the ships to aide the Republic: a sick irony that would go down in history! Irritation settled in her mind at the thought of wasting such immense and limitless power.

_No... that is wrong. You shouldn't be thinking such things._ she thought, _Thoughts like that is what lured the Sith to the darkside in the first place._

Sari turned to Kirdu and smiled a half smile, "This is the Lehon System. Do you know how Darth Revan and Darth Malak found this place a long time ago?"

He shook his head, looking confused, "No, master. None of the lessons said anything about a Lehon System. What is it?"

"You remember how the Sith disappeared?"

"Yeah!" His eye lit up at the thought of being able to share his knowledge," Darth Revan and her student left the galaxy a long time ago and came back as the Sith, right? And then they attacked the Republic with a big army?"

She scruffled her Padawan's hair, he seemed to glow with pride. "You're almost 100 percent correct; Darth Revan and Darth Malak both disappeared for an extended period of time, but they never left the galaxy. Revan had found a type of ancient machine called a Star Map on Dantooine - in those ruins close to the Jedi enclave. After she had convinced Malak, they journeyed around the galaxy with clues from each Star Map where to find the next. When they had found all five, the Maps were pieced together and showed the two Sith Lords where the Star Forge was-"

"Master? What's the Star Force?"

"Star FORGE. Please don't interrupt me." She didn't mean to sound harsh, but Kirdu had tread upon one of her pet peeves. "As I was saying, Revan and Malak found the Star Forge some time after their corruption and fall to the darkside. The Star Forge was something of a factory for star ships and droids. No one really knows yet how it managed to create so many ships all on its own, but the Republic destroyed it to prevent the risk of ever having to face another war like that again.

"From what we know, the Lehon System is the last planet known to have a species called the Rakata. I'll explain the Rakata in a while. But for the moment, just know that they were an extremely advanced species that were the creators of the Star Forge and Star Maps and I believe that I may find a clue to Revan's location from the Elder's clan if they still exist."

"But master,did the Jedi destroy the Star Maps,too?"

Sari was beginning to feel tired of his numerous questions. Didn't they teach these kids ANYTHING at the Enclave?

"Nope. The Rakata had already tried to destroy the Maps at the fall of the Infinite Empire, but they had a self-building technology that repaired themselves over time."

"But the Star Forge was destroyed and didn't come back, how are the Star Maps different?"

"Because, Kirdu, the Star Forge was completely annihilated."

"So why didn't they do that to the Maps?"

"I don't know! The Jedi are dumb when it comes to destroying stuff! Stop asking questions - I need to figure out where the hell I'm going to land this bucket of bolts."

The hurt puppy look on the young boy's face caused Sari to feel horribly guilty at snapping at the boy. She had given into her irritation and lashed out at him for merely being curious. Not being one to apologize, the woman squeezed Kirdu's shoulder briefly and went back to focusing her attention on landing. They had entered Lehon's atmosphere and were perusing the beautiful landscape for a clear area to land.

Despite the numerous crashed ships, a result of the disruptor field that had been active up until the Star Forge's destruction, the surface of Lehon was breathtakingly glorious. The planet's surface was mostly composed of uninhabited islands and small continents. were white sand beaches leading to clear blue oceans with rolling waves frothing white as they crashed against rocky cliff walls. The beaches opened into deep green grassy fields and plateaus with various trees and bushes spotting the area. Behind a large boulder, Sari could see a Rancor and it's baby lumbering around in one of the more forested areas.

She looked out of the corner of her eye at Kirdu, who was half-standing and gaping at the scenery. It didn't take long to find the island she was looking for: she could see ahead of them, the tip of the Temple of the Ancients - a properly named temple built by the Rakata during their time of rule. Sari knew that the Elders and Black Rakata inhabited this particular island, and this was exactly where she needed to be.

"Kirdu, get ready to disembark. It's time to get this party started."

* * *

The minute Sari set foot in the clearing, something filled her insides and made her senses hyperaware of everything that was going on. The feeling was invigorating, yet frightening. Energy surged through her limbs, and her head felt light. A quick glance at the young boy showed that Kirdu was also being affected by the sensation. It took a long moment for the Jedi Knight to take a deep breath and collect herself. She opened her eyes and starred straight at the Temple of the Ancients. A massive relic of darkside power emanated off of the permacrete building.

No, it wasn't the building itself. There was something... more. Inside that temple, something was living and breathing; Sari could feel it teasing her, enticing her to enter through its doors and revel in its power. She could feel the immortal hunger that was the very foundation of the darkside itself - the lust for power and blood. Even from the edge of the clearing, the feeling sent tremors through to her core and shook her very being.

_We need to get OUT of her_ her mind screamed at her, _we need to LEAVE! NOW!_.

Sari didn't want to leave. She wanted to continue into the temple and embrace the feeling and the-

"M-master... Master!" Kirdu screamed at her, igniting his yellow lightsaber. She shook her head, her blonde hair twisting and swaying with the movement. She needed to pull herself together.

With a hand on her double-bladed lightsaber, Sari looked up towards where Kirdu was facing. 3 humanoid amphibious creatures were running towards her, long swords in their hands. They were clad in beige tunics with symbols running down the fronts. Their heads were oblong shaped, with eyes sticking out of the sides of their heads on 2 short stalks sticking out. They had wide mouths and walked much like Amphibians. They were the Rakata.


	4. Chapter 4

Sari looked around at her surroundings; the Rakata had taken her and Kirdu to what seemed to be some sort of enclave. In actuality, it didn't differ much from the enclave on Dantooine. Everything was a light beige color with a low ceiling. There were no doors, only curtains. There were Rakata wandering the halls, staring at the two Jedi as they passed. Kirdu had his shoulders pushed back but you could tell her was feeling anxious. His eyes darted back and forth at everything, his hand occasionally hovering over his lightsaber.

They were standing before their leader, a Rakata in a tunic with ancient looking designs. "Identify yourself," he said in their language. Kirdu looked confused, but Sari had learned a number of different languages at the enclave. She now understood why the masters went through such lengths.

"We are Sari Ciracee and Kirdu of the Jedi, sent by the Jedi Council on Dantooine," she replied in a humble manner yet keeping her stance and voice confident.

The Rakata's leader peered at her, "And why has this Jedi Council sent you?"

"I am on a mission to find my mother. A woman your clan knows quite well: Darth Revan."

There were gasps and whispers coming from the other aliens, all suddenly nervous at the mention of the woman that betrayed them nearly 30 years ago. The leader also looked unsettled, as did the rest of the council. However, he shook his head and motioned for the others to calm down, "Relax, my comrades. Darth Revan may have betrayed us in the past, but remember: she redeemed herself by destroying the Star Forge, even if she gave in to what she called the darkside. She used her great magic to defeat our enemies and save one of our own." He turned to Sari and Kirdu, "Darth Revan is not in or near our enclave. Why are you searching here?"

Sari sighed and nodded, "I was sure she wouldn't be here. However, we know she has traveled here before and my Padawan and I need to know if your people have heard anything about her whereabouts; whether it be from a spacer or one of your own, we need any information you may have to give us."

He – or she, they all looked the same – shook his head, "I apologize for the inconvenience, but we have not heard from Darth Revan in nearly 2 decades."

A spark of hope fluttered in her chest, "She went missing before that – 24 years ago! Do you know where she was heading when she left?"

"Leader, if I may," the historian started, "I might have some information for the Jedi and her companion."

"If you have anything that may aide Sari Ciracee in her quest, you may share," the leader motioned for him to continue.

The historian took a step forward, "Before she departed for the last time, the Darth Revan told one of our members that she wished to create a holocron of the Sith and to, I quote, stay off of the radar for a while."

That spark of hope diminished in the span of the Rakatan historian's speech. Materials to make a holocron were found all over the galaxy. She began to dig into her memory; which planets held special crystals? Specifically, she wanted to know any planets that were deeply rooted in darkside power or was in Sith space.

She closed her eyes and sighed, regaining her composure, "I thank you, Historian of the Rakata. Your information will be kept in thought throughout my mission." Sari turned to the Rakatan leader and bowed slightly, "And I thank you for your hospitality. I hope I have no caused too much of an inconvenience on you. I do not mean to sound rude, but it is imperative that I depart as quickly as possible. Is there anything else you may know that may prove to be useful?"

The leader shook his head, but the historian raised his hand slightly, "Sari Ciracee, I would like to supply you with one small amount of information. From what planets I have studied from ancient texts, there is a planet in the Outer Rim called Byss. In the data that was collected in Rakatan archives, the planet was once a part the Infinite Empire. If I do remember correctly, there are old ruins that once held a vast amount of old legends of the magic you claim to call the Force."

Sari smiled, bowing deeply, "I am deeply gracious for your knowledge. I must depart now."

She didn't mean to seem rude, but these aliens were creeping her out. They were completely emotionless despite their seemingly interested speech. To add onto that, there was a strange pull on her mind. The entire time, she could feel the power of the Temple of the Ancients enticing her to enter. She needed to get Kirdu off of the planet as soon as humanly possible. She was under no much distress, but Kirdu looked as if he were about to run screaming. His eyes were wide as the handle of his lightsaber and sweat beaded at his brow. She wasn't sure how much more the small boy could take.

"Farewell, Sari Ciracee," the Rakatan leader said, "We are in great debt to your mother for destroying the Star Forge when we could not. You may return here if needed at any time."

"I thank you, Master Rakata." She looked down at Kirdu, "Come, my Padawan. We have to go."

And with that, they turned and left the enclave.

* * *

Sari swore and slammed her fist onto the control panel. Byss? _Byss_?! Of all places, why would Revan go _there_?! It seemed pretty obvious that the Rakata was either feeding her poodoo, or didn't understand that her mother wouldn't be interested in simple ruins. Ruins meant nothing unless there was knowledge to take from it. She leaned back in the pilot's chair and groaned. Somewhere in the back of the ship, she could hear Kirdu ripping open a food package.

"Kirdu!" she called, "Cockpit! Now!"

It was maybe 2 seconds before he was in the cockpit next to her, crumbs dabbling his mouth, "Master?"

"Look up any planets that hold crystals. Especially planets that are known for having a darkside aura."

"Yes master!" The boy scurried off, eager to bring pride to his master with his success no doubt. Sari didn't have the energy to care; she rested her head in her hands and racked her brain. Where could she have gone? The galaxy was so big… What if she was hiding out on an uncharted planet? Far away from the known hyperspace routes, far away from any civilization that had ever heard of her. . .  
She suddenly had an intense urge to search the Temple of the Ancients. At first, she passed it off as the temple's power attempting to draw her in…

_Secrets…_

That wasn't the temple. No, something else was calling to her. . .

She leapt out of the chair, grabbing her lightsaber and cloak. There was something inside of that temple that she needed to find. She never had the Force _speak_ to her like this before. From what she was told, not many people did so she wasn't going to pass it off as nothing.

Kirdu looked up at her quizzically as she raced past him. "Master?" he called, "Are we going somewh-"

"No, Kirdu, stay here! I'm going to the Temple and you need to watch the ship! I'll be back soon!"

She didn't wait to get a reply. She opened the hatch and ran off of the ship.


	5. Chapter 5

The sun blinded Sari as she leapt off of the boarding ramp and began to sprint across the beach, her boots pounding into the sand and leaving a trail of messy footprints. Had this planet not been so isolated Sari may have considered momentarily covering her tracks. She continued on with a determined face and reached out with the Force to speed up her movements. The world around her was nothing more than a green blur as she sped through the forested path that led to the Temple's clearing. When the corpse of the two Rancor from earlier appeared, she felt an almost instantaneous feeling of dread. In the heat of the battle, the realization hadn't hit her because of their soon-after confrontation with the Rakata; now that she was literally retracing her steps she figured out why the Rancor had attacked her without provocation.

Along with the clearing, the entire island – and possibly even the whole planet in its entirety – was feeling the touch of the dark side that emanated off of the Temple of the Ancients.

Rancor were not savage and blood-thirsty creatures as most people would depict them. In most times, a Rancor only attacks when threatened or searching for food. Sari knew that Lehon was full of creatures that would sate the beasts' hunger; humans also were not a top priority for the Rancor species. It took a while for her to see the truth – a blunder of her own. These Rancor in the clearing were being controlled and sent into a mindless savage rage by the dark side that was emanating off of the Temple of the Ancients.

At the thought, she almost began to feel guilt creeping into the edges of her mind. Although her slaying of the beasts was purely for survival, she did not even try to avoid the combat. She embraced the thrill and adrenaline and ended the manipulated creature's life.

But this was no time for regretting her actions, she decided. Sari tightened her hair tie and looked up at the forbidden temple; her trek to the temple was over and she needed to get a move on. She had left Kirdu in the shuttle alone with no explanations to what she was doing and she didn't want to waste any time.

Thanks to her mother's efforts to destroy the Star Forge, Sari had no problem getting into the Temple of the Ancients. There was no longer a working energy field blocking the entrance so she just climbed up the stairs and entered.

The tug of the dark side was almost instantaneous to her entering the temple. Unlike the ominous foreboding feeling from before, she felt almost rejuvenated upon her arrival. A sort of fire seemed to flow through her veins as she worked her way deeper into the temple. The records she read on Dantooine showed that there was nothing left of value –

_No_, Sari chastised herself, _There is nothing of the_ Sith _here. Nothing of the Sith is valuable._

In any case, the data records from the cleanup of the Star Forge read that all Sith artifacts had been taken and shipped to Coruscant or destroyed. But, there was something that told her that there was something here worth searching for… She wasn't sure what she was looking for and, after the first 20 minutes of searching every room she came across, began to believe that she was merely following something her subconscious fabricated to eliminate the sense of desperation she felt back on the starship.

She collapsed in front of one of the large stone doors she had seen so many of. The Jedi Knight had been wandering the maze of halls for over an hour and came across nothing of value. Nothing but dust and dirt accumulating over 2 decades were in the rooms and corridors she meandered in. Her legs and mind were exhausted from the constant walking and running she had been forcing upon herself ever since landing on this god forsaken place. If there was anything left of use in this temple, whoever put it here sure as hell made sure it couldn't be found. But even she knew that there was nothing. Whatever energy she was feeling or whatever notion she was following this entire time was a blind goose chase; she would never find anything of use to help find Darth Revan. She was wasting her tim-

_There is no passion, there is serenity._ Before desperation consumed her, the Jedi reminded herself of the Code she had sworn herself to at such a young age.

She took in deep cleansing breaths – the Jedi ritual for suppressing negative emotions. Outside the temple, the sky was darkening to a deep purple and red hue. Night would soon be falling but Sari folded her legs and straightened her slumped posture. Her blue eyes closed and her breathing became even and deep as she began to fall into the meditative trance to regain her strength.

Just as she was about to get and leave, she heard a thump from behind the door she was sitting in front of. Curious (and a little excited), Sari uncrossed her legs and stood up as she reached out to the stone door. Just as her hand touched the marked slab she jerked her hand back as if she had been burned; it was quite the opposite: the door was icy to the touch.

The entire planet was hot and humid – the sweat soaking her tunic to her body and her hair to her face was a sure sign of that.

Sari wondered if this had anything to do with the sudden intense tug of the dark side she was currently feeling. She felt as if her entire soul was trying to rip itself out in a mad attempt to get inside that room to whatever caused the door to be so _cold_.

Her body braced itself for the piercing temperature of the stone door before she reached out to open it. The first few times, the door refused to open – it didn't even budge. She looked around the room for any sort of clue as to how to get the door open being as it was obvious that brute strength or common techniques wouldn't do the trick.

Upon igniting her lightsaber the room had an almost eerie feel to it; shadows were darkened and elongated with the silver light combining with the light from a glow stick she had cracked open previously. Sari tapped the door with it experimentally to have her hope dulled a little. With a sizzling noise, the lightsaber bounced off of the stone slab without so much as a score to mar the intricate design.

She stepped back to the farthest corner of the room and lowered herself into a crouch; energy surged through her muscles as she gathered the Force to prepare for her upcoming attack. Moment by moment, the feeling began to turn into a pressure-like feeling as her body began to anticipate her next move. When she could barely stand to hold herself back, the Force feeling like inferno wanting to detonate into a firestorm as it rushed through every part of her body, she sprang forward and lunged at the door. With a twirl of her lightsaber to garner momentum, Sari raised her weapon and slammed it into the door.

Or, at least, that was what she was intending to do.

Just like before, the blade bounced off of the stone door harmlessly with nothing more than a sizzling noise. If she had ignited both blades she'd most likely be dead from the ricocheting weapon. Pain shot up Sari's left side where her body slammed into the door with the full force of her attack – a sickening crunch coming from her ribs and humerus.

It took her a full minute to recover from her failed attack; Sari blinked numerous times and found herself again taking deep breaths in order to prevent passing out from the blinding pain. Her lip began to bleed from her effort to refrain from screaming. Sure she had broken a bone or two before – hell, she was sent back to Dantooine from Dxun due to injuries wasn't she? – but that didn't mean that the pain was lessened from past experiences. The feeling of having her bones in a condition where they were in more than one piece was maddening even after calling upon the Force to help with the healing.

When the pain had dulled to the point where she was able to function again Sari pulled herself off of the ground and stared at the door accusingly, babying her wounded side. The door hadn't even been scathed in the attempt. She would feel offended if she weren't in so much pain.

_Well,_ Sari thought, _There's only one thing left to try. . ._

She furrowed her brow against the pain, which was beginning to ebb as the Force worked its magic in her system, and concentrated as she began to gather herself once more. This time, instead of preparing for an assault, she stood positioned herself firmly with her legs spaced evenly apart and hooked her lightsaber back onto her belt. The air temperature dropped as she called upon her Force powers en masse. The feeling she had wasn't the same as before – it felt intemperate and feral as it swelled inside of her and surged through her muscular system, rejuvenating her body and making her feel fierce. It was nothing she had ever experienced before: this passionate and wild power.

Bending to her will, Sari turned the direction of the Force to the door, pulling on it with the same power that was almost frightening to her. The door was obviously being held there by the Force itself because it pulled against her subtly; she intensified her concentration and reached out further.

It only took the fraction of a second.

The door exploded outward, debris and enormous chunks of stone flew in Sari's direction; it took every bit of concentration she had to dodge and deflect the dangerous rubble. However, she didn't take into account the debris coming from the wall behind her where the door remains had struck the wall. A large portion of the wall broke off and slammed into Sari's broken rib, dropping her to her knees where she was struck in the back of the skull with another wild rock.

Alone in the Temple of the Ancients, Sari blacked out.


End file.
